FACILITYCalgary, a compilation of news items & commentary of interest to people who have a real estate, infrastructure, construction, oil & gas or general interest in Calgary, brought to you weekly by MaxComm Communications, keeping you up to date on issues affecting 'business in Calgary'.
FRESH TODAY - Monday, January 21, 2008
+ ACA Capital Holdings Inc., the New York bond insurer being run by regulators after subprime- mortgage losses, won a month's grace to unwind $60 billion of credit-default swap contracts that it can't pay
+ crude futures @ 6:40AM, MST as quoted by http://bloomberg.com ; Nymex Crude Future US$88.95/barrel, Dated Brent Spot US$88.08/barrel, WTI Cushing Spot US$90.57(Friday's close)/barrel - crude oil rose last week on speculation the U.S. economy may avert a recession but has fallen as stock markets tumbled in Asia & Europe on concern the U.S. will lead a global economic slowdown
+ EnCana Corporation closed $750 million debt financing
+ Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in the United States
+ Profound Energy Inc. & Defiant Resources Corporation agreed to combine
+ the Bank of Canada will announce its decision on the target for the overnight rate tomorrow
NEWS Review - January 15 - 20
+ BCE re-organization as part of Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan takeover is in jeopardy, hinging on a Quebec court decision pending regarding voting rights of bondholders & interpretation of 're-organization'; stay tuned . .
+ Canadian Superior Energy Inc. agreed to acquire Seeker Petroleum Ltd. for $51.8 million
+ CIBC is going to the well to raise $2.75 billion in new capital, mostly from its largest shareholders, to shore up its capital in the wake of recent large loss write-downs
+ Delphi Energy Corp. announced its 2008 capital expenditure budget of $50 million
+ DTE Energy closed sale of portion of its Barnett Shale gas properties near Dallas to Range Resources Corp. , US$250 million
+ Finning International Inc. closed its acquisition of Collicutt Energy Services Ltd.
+ Goodrich Petroleum Corporation announced its 2008 capital expenditure budget of US$275 million
+ Goodrich Petroleum Corporation closed US$75 million debt financing
+ Grey Wolf Exploration Inc. announced its 2008 capital expenditure budget of $35 million
+ InterRent REIT closed $25 million debt financing
+ Merrill Lynch announced its sub-prime mortgage related loss write-downs have ballooned to US$9.8 billion
+ Noble Corporation agreed to sell its North Sea platform drilling business to Seawell Holding UK Limited, US$35 million
+ North American Natural Gas Inc. agreed to combine with PureRay Corporation
+ oilsands royalty agreements - new ones - Alberta Government's new deals with Syncrude & Suncor are believed imminent
+ OMNI Energy Services Corp. closed its acquisition of the assets of B.E.G. Liquid Mud Services Corp.
+ OPEC members produced an average 32.03 million barrels per day of crude oil in December, according to a Platts survey ; up from November's rate of 31.65 million barrels per day
+ Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. closed its acquisition of CIBC World Markets' U.S. capital markets businesses
+ PrimeWest Energy Trust closed its sale to TAQA North Ltd. & 1350849 Alberta Ltd., both wholly owned subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC
+ Talisman Energy Inc. agreed to a $106 million takeover of RSX Energy Inc.
+ Talisman Energy Inc. announced its 2008 capital expenditure budget of $4.4 billion
+ TELUS Corporation closed its acquisition of Emergis Inc.
+ Trican Well Service Ltd. announced its 2008 capital expenditure budget of $109.7 million
+ Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta is the name of the newly merged Alliance & Wildrose parties; leader is Paul Hinman
SHAKERS + Movers on the Move
+ Al Monaco to Exec. VP Major Projects @ Enbridge Inc.
+ Allan Lefever to Deputy Chief Judge @ Provincial Court of Alberta
+ Barden Gale to Vice-Chairman @ Starwood Capital Group
+ Bill Gregson, Pres. @ The Forzani Group Ltd., resigned .
+ Bill Jensen to CEO 2 Intrawest ULC
+ Brenda Boultwood to Sr. VP & Chief Risk Officer@ Constellation Energy
+ Byron Dunn to CEO @ IDM Group
+ Charles Hardy to Exec. VP Marine Services @ Superior Energy Services Inc.
+ Chris Graham to Mgr. Membership Development @ Calgary Chamber of Commerce
+ Chris Pappas to Pres. & COO @ Nova Chemicals Corp.
+ David Pichler to Head, U.S. Credit Trading @ RBC Capital Markets
+ David Williamson to CFO @ CIBC
+ Don Garner to CEO, TAQA North @ Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
+ Doug Fraser to CFO, TAQA North @ Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
+ Douglas Bloom to Pres. Spectra Energy Transmission West @ Spectra Energy Corp.
+ Douglas Haughey to Group VP, Spectra Energy Transmission @ Spectra Energy Corp.
+ Dr. James Edwards to Sr. VP Special Projects @ Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd.
+ Dr. Karsten Nielsen to VP Exploration @ PetroGlobe Inc.
+ Frank Deys, Exec. VP & CFO @ Garneau Inc. resigned
+ Garth Johnson to Pres. @ Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd.
+ Gerald Vikse to VP Operations @ Tamm Oil and Gas Corp.
+ Jack Keenan to COO @ Pacific Gas and Electric Company
+ James Stone, founder & Chairman @ Stone Energy Corporation, died
+ Jan Kees van Gaalen to VP & Treasurer @ Baker Hughes Inc.
+ Janet Holder to Pres., Enbridge Gas Distribution @ Enbridge Inc.
+ Jim Merrrill to Exec. VP & CFO @ GMX Resources Inc.
+ John Clarke to VP & CFO @ Birch Mountain Resources Ltd.
+ John Conway to Chief Nuclear Officer @ Pacific Gas and Electric Company
+ Jonathan Lexier to Pres. & CEO @ Highpine Oil & Gas Limited
+ Steve Rhoades to COO @ Advanced Energy Industries Inc.
+ Steve Wuori to Exec. VP Liquids Pipelines @ Enbridge Inc.
+ Tim Granger to COO, TAQA North @ Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
+ Tom Woods to Chief Risk Officer @ CIBC
+ Wiktor Musial to Pres. @ Tamm Oil and Gas Corp.
MARK Your Calendar; Business Events, Functions etc.
Jan 22 - 25; World of Concrete; Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas; info/register: tcindric@HanleyWood.com more information: www.worldofconcrete.com/woc2008/public/enter.aspx ?left=0&nav=0
Feb. 1; 147th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference, Vienna, Austria; http://www.opec.org/
Feb. 4 @ 3PM, Speech From The Throne, Opening of The Legislature, the Honourable Norman L., Kwong, C.M., A.O.E., Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, will deliver the Speech from the Throne, Alberta Legislature, Edmonton; broadcast live at: http://www.assembly.ab.ca
Feb. 8-10; Davis Cup Tennis, Canada vs. Mexico, Calgary Stampede Corral, 'box' ticket sales available now through Harold Milavsky's office: 403- 269-0631
Feb. 20; 7th Annual RealCapital Conference, Metro Toronto Convention Centre North Building, Toronto; info/register: http://www.realestateforums.com/realfinance/mission. html ; co-chairs: Andrew Phillips, Managing Director, Investment Banking, TD Securities Inc.& Karen Weaver, CFO, First Capital Realty Inc.
March 6 - 7; Houston Technology Center 4th Annual Energy Technology Venture Capital Conference, Marriott Houston Westchase; info/register: http://www.houstontech.org/en/cev/?634
Feb. 7; National Energy Group Inc., Dallas, TX, Special Meeting, dissolution of the company
Feb. 29; Algonquin Oil & Gas Limited, Calgary, Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders
Mar. 4; The Bank of Nova Scotia, Edmonton, Annual Meeting of Shareholders
Mar. 6; Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. ; Annual Meeting, Oklahoma City, OK
Mar. 18; ONEOK Inc.; Annual Meeting, Tulsa,OK.
Apr. 8; First Calgary Petroleums Ltd.; Annual & Special Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
Apr. 10; Nav Canada, Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Moncton
May 8; Apache Corporation, Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas
MARK Your Calendar; 2008 Charity & Industry Golf Tournaments
note: if you are sponsoring / supporting a charity tournament in the Calgary area in 2008 we are happy to list them early here; just send your tournament data and contact information to: research@maxcomm.ca
INFRASTRUCTURE News / P3 / Go Green
+ PLANDFLEX CORPORATION will develop and or acquire commercial and institutional properties: Public Private Partnerships (P3), development for governments, NGOs, school boards, hospital boards, municipalities etc., build-to-suit developments for strong credit tenants location focus is smaller & major communities in Western Canada. Inquiries and/or property offerings to:
PLANDFLEX CORPORATION
Attn: Mark Kolke, President
Suite 1000, 888 - 3rd Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 5C5
Phone: 403-444-6939
e-mail: mark.kolke@maxcomm.ca
+ in Quebec, Bill 32, passed by the National Assembly in December, includes provisions that proposed capital projects must assess P3 alternatives;
"Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop." - unknown
"Fears are nothing more than a state of mind." - Napoleon Hill
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." - Ambrose Redmoon
"What we seek we shall find; what we flee from flees from us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Risk and fear may not be siblings, but they are closely related; I believe our drive to conquer a problem, reach a goal or experience an adventure is not so much about the challenge of the moment, but a surface 'risk' symptom of a deeper fear." - Mark Kolke
"Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it... that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear." - Dale Carnegie
"Fairway: a narrow strip of mown grass that separates two groups of golfers looking for lost balls in the rough. " - Henry Beard & Roy McKie
"When you're having trouble and topping the ball, it means the ground is moving on you." - Chi Chi Rodriguez
"Golfers who carry ball retrievers are gatherers, not hunters. Their dreams are no longer of conquest, but only of salvage." - David Owen
"A ball will always come to rest halfway down a hill, unless there is sand or water at the bottom." - Henry Beard
Innovative strategies, inspiring work plans and cutting- edge initiatives; we are writers, editors and business communicators who help you frame your message right the first time, on time.
www.frameyourmessage.com is our website - featuring information on services, writer credentials - writing, speaking, coaching -
We have established a presence in Houston, Los Angeles and Maui - staffing up in each market with well credentialed writers in those markets with subject area expertise and availability. Our work is 99% English content for audiences in Canada, US, UK, Australia:
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Mark Kolke writes a daily column (posted at http://markmusing.com ) Musings, after his morning walk. To subscribe (free) to receive his daily musings, write to mark@markmusing.com Musings are e-mailed daily to subscribers and are posted/archived on his blog http://markismusing.blogspot.com & on his Musing site:
+ our objective is to feature information and links to articles which provide insights, ideas and services to help our readers access useful resources to help employees at all levels build on their skills.
+ the Toastmasters program offers an opportunity to improve professional skills; public speaking, leadership training, confidence building - a great way to give your career a boost as you climb the ladder. Toastmasters International - 210,000 members in 90 countries; 65 Toastmasters clubs in Calgary. Toastmasters offer a supportive environment, networking opportunities & a proven program to help people overcome their worst fear - public speaking.
+ Spoken Word Toastmasters . . meets every Tuesday at 5:30 PM at North Hill COOP community room (basement), 540 - 16ave., NE, Calgary, AB; contact club president for further info: nelson.keung@siemens.com . . next meeting January 22; http://members.shaw.ca/spoken_word
+ Singles and Friends Toastmasters, offers a 'singles only' format - opportunity for socializing & speaking; meets every Wed. @ 7 PM. Info: http://singlesnfriends.freetoasthost.info next meeting January 16
+ MVP Advanced Toastmasters Club, meets @ 7 PM, 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month @ Fluor facility in south Calgary; a club for experienced Toastmasters wishing to hone their skills in a place where the bar is set high; contact club President for further info: Mark.Kolke@frameyourmessage.com or Gerda.Timm@Fluor.com .. next meeting Jan. 24, 7PM http://mvpadvanced.freetoasthost.net
+ is it pre-election posturing or a genuine shift in policy? . .the Stelmach government is reported as reviewing four areas of change to its royalty regime change, focused on natural gas drilling activity which is - surprise, where government's revenues are greatest - the golden goose industry say is being strangled; one has to wonder what state the industry would be in today had the 'Ralph status quo' been maintained
+ over at the CIBC, someone ought to be giving their head a shake; after billions in write downs, after heads have rolled like bowling balls to the gutter, their chief economist seems more like he is smoking the drapes than reading the tea leaves: in his most recent report he hangs his hat on the meager-ist of stats that support a 'mid cycle slowdown' view with a rebound by mid year. Someone should buy Jeff Rubin a European newspaper . . it wouldn't take him long to realize that ripples can become tsunami's in short order. The CIBC are in enough jeopardy already, one would wonder about the advice they are giving their customers by letting Rubin continue to grandstand; he may be right about $150/barrel oil within 5 years, but his days of being highly regarded are numbered . .
+ Ed Stelmach went to Washington, ho-hum; Alberta's two fringe right wing parties, Wildrose & Alliance merged to form one fringe right wing party, ho-hum
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